Gulf Coast Hires Former All-American as Head Softball Coach

Mississippi Gulf Coast has hired a familiar face to run its Softball program moving forward, and it’s a Bulldog Softball great.

Izzy Werdann accepted the job of Mississippi Gulf Coast Head Softball Coach. Werdann is a former Gulf Coast Softball star in the years 2016 and 2017. In two years at Gulf Coast, Werdann led the Bulldogs to an 85-21 overall record while picking up numerous achievements.

As a freshman, she batted .323 and crushed five home runs along with 41 RBIs. The Bulldogs finished the 2015-16 season ranked third in the country. In both her freshman and sophomore seasons, she hit a three-run home run with two outs in the sixth inning of conference tournament-opening games.

As a sophomore, Werdann led the Bulldogs with 13 home runs, 47 RBIs and a .513 on-base percentage while recording a .384 batting average throughout the 2016-17 season. For individual accolades, she was named MACJC Co-Player of the Year and earned a second All-MACJC selection on the way to All-Region 23 and NJCAA All-American honors. Werdann voiced her excitement about returning to Perkinston.

“It means everything to come back here,” she said. “I cannot wait to come back to the school where I started my career and win here as a coach. I can’t wait.”

After graduating from MGCCC, Werdann became the second player in program history to play softball in the SEC, staying in the Magnolia State and attending Ole Miss. In her junior year, the Rebels made it to the championship round of the Tempe Regional before winning the Oxford Regional in her senior year. The Rebels would ultimately lose to Arizona in the Tuscon Super Regional.

After graduating, Werdann began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Southern Miss in 2019 before making a transition to volunteer assistant coach. She was eventually promoted to full-time assistant coach before the 2023 season. The Golden Eagles made the conference tournament in all three years Werdann was an assistant coach.

Werdann had a lot to thank for being given the privilege to return to her JUCO home.

“I thank God. He opened this door for me to get to walk through,” Werdann noted. “And the door was opened through Dr. [Mary] Graham, Dean [Steven] Campbell, Dr. [Ladd] Taylor and Dr. [Brad] Bailey. I would like to thank them for this opportunity. It means everything to me, and I can’t wait to prove them right for hiring me.”

Gulf Coast fans have a lot to be excited about their softball program moving forward.

Author administrator Kellen Walker